The impeachment rumbles were audible even before the latest filing by federal prosecutors, and the volume has gotten much higher since. When Michael Cohen entered a plea that said he committed a campaign finance felony “at the direction of” Donald Trump, it became clear the president is in greater jeopardy than ever.

Last weekend, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California, said, “This criminal must be brought up by the Congress of the United States for impeachment.” Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, a voice of progressives, was asked earlier if that step would be premature and replied, “Not to me.”

Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders are not so sure. But a November Politico/Morning Consult poll found 61 percent of Democratic voters want to see impeachment proceedings commence. Billionaire activist Tom Steyer, contemplating a presidential run, has put together an organization called Need to Impeach.

The case for impeachment has become more plausible. In arranging payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal to keep them from revealing purported affairs with Trump, prosecutors argued, Cohen “deceived the voting public by hiding alleged facts that he believed would have had a substantial effect on the election.”

If the claims that Trump ordered the hush payments are true, he is evidently guilty of a campaign finance crime. But long-standing Justice Department policy is that a sitting president is “constitutionally immune from indictment and criminal prosecution.” After he leaves office, a president may face criminal charges. But for the time being, the only remedy for presidential crimes is in the hands of Congress.

The saga of Trump’s misdeeds, real or imagined, has been lurid and riveting, and like impatient readers plowing through a murder mystery, many Americans are tempted to jump to conclusions about the ending. It may seem that with all the smoke around the Oval Office, this presidency is bound to go down in flames. But that’s far from certain.

Republicans assumed they had the goods on Bill Clinton after a special prosecutor found he lied under oath and obstructed justice to conceal his affair with a White House intern. But the public wasn’t persuaded that this wrongdoing justified removal. When the House voted for Clinton’s impeachment in 1998, 63 percent of Americans opposed it.

The Senate acquitted Clinton; he rose in popularity; and Republicans suffered politically. In many ways, it was a surprising outcome. And yes, there was no suggestion that Clinton had tried to illicitly influence an election. Still, the lesson is that Americans should wait for all the facts to emerge before reaching a judgment.

It may be that the revelations will vindicate Democrats who regard Trump as thoroughly corrupt and dangerous. It may be that what Cohen claims is the most serious credible accusation against Trump — and that it may never be proven. Does Cohen have evidence more convincing than his recollections that Trump was his puppeteer?

If there is strong, abundant evidence that Trump has committed “high crimes” of the sort feared by the Framers, it will come out in due time. If special counsel Robert Mueller and other federal prosecutors are unable to confirm serious wrongdoing that warrant upending the result of the 2016 election, likewise.

At that point, Americans can reach fully informed judgments on whether Trump should be impeached and removed from office, or subject to federal prosecution, or both, or neither.